Up All Night to Get Lucky

Step away from the rabbit's foot and discover actual things to do to change your luck this St. Patrick's Day.

To quote the wise, French robots of Daft Punk, "We've come too far to give up who we are. So let's raise the bar and our cups to the stars." Not sure what that has to do with obtaining luck, but I'm pretty sure you now have that song stuck in your head ... again. You're welcome.

In any case, no one wants to be unlucky — especially on St. Patrick's Day. Many can get confused on how to effectively keep the Irish Eyes A' Smiling with an Internet full of differing good luck rituals claiming to grant good fortune to desperate believers. In an effort to save you from flying all the way to Ireland to kiss the Blarney Stone, we're debunking some of the more popular superstitions to ensure you spend your St. Patrick's Day doing what will really get you lucky: drinking excessive amounts of green beer.

Traditional good luck superstitions such as finding a four-leaf clover, picking up a face-up penny, or hanging a lost horseshoe have been around for many years. Ironically, in today's world, you'd already have to be extremely lucky to actually come across any of these.

The ultimate good luck charm: The Four-Leaf Clover

In Ireland, the clover (or shamrock) is a symbol of the Holy Trinity, with a four-leaf clover being a mystical rarity. Here in the states, clovers are weeds. When most people see clovers in their yard, they quickly blast them with Round-Up instead of sifting through them for a hidden charm. Who really has the time to get the knees of their Levi's all grass-stained looking for a four-leaf clover that isn't even there? You're better off grabbing a Shamrock Shake to wash down your bowl of Lucky Charms – at least there is a real prize at the end of that rainbow.

Find a penny, pick it up, and all the day you'll have good luck.

It seems like whenever you're short a penny there are none to be found, but mostly you can always spot a random penny littering the sidewalks and dusty Burger King floors of America. They are always alone, and always gross. They are also worthless. Did you know that pennies cost more to manufacture than they are worth? With all of this evidence against it, how can anyone believe that a penny is lucky — regardless which side is facing up? Are we really to believe that seeing Honest Abe's profile is any luckier than ... whatever is on the other side? Especially when we all know how lucky he wasn't! Bottom line: pennies suck, ya'll. If you see one on the ground and aren't a 4-year old, just keep walking.

Hanging a horseshoe in the home will attract good fortune

This silly good luck charm became popular in the days before the invention of the horseless carriage. Back then, horses were the main source of transportation — making it more common to come across a lost horseshoe in the road. Ye olde dummies would take the muddy, dung-covered things and hang them in their kitchens ... where their children ate. Lucky them. One could argue that the modern equivalent of this superstition would make flat-tire debris a source of good fortune. Good luck finding a horseshoe, nowadays. Outside of backyard games, you're not likely to find one laying around. Unless you plan to rob a horse of its shoes at gunpoint, you're out of luck. By the way, if we see a shoe-less horse, we'll know who to come after.

Ultimately, chasing ancient good luck charms is a waste of time. No one should bother trying to force their luck to change, because good luck is a state of mind. People can manifest their luck with a positive attitude, confident self-image and strong mental outlook. That is all anyone needs to achieve their goals and get lucky.